This case study highlights Mattel's adept use of teasers, easter eggs, and interactive promotions like the Selfie Generator to engage audiences and prompt active participation on social media platforms, generating substantial buzz. Strategic partnerships with various brands extended Mattel's influence beyond toys, empowering fans to curate unique experiences and facilitating expansion into new avenues. Notably, Mattel's Barbie brand, with its narrative challenging gender norms, has catalyzed cultural conversations on female empowerment, showcasing the company's ability to align marketing strategies with societal values for enhanced brand loyalty and cultural impact.
Whether shoppers intended to see the movie, they were going stumble upon one of the 100+ Barbie collaborations.
This array of partnerships allowed fans to engage with the brands that appeal directly to them creating a choose-your-own-experience momentum.
This became a means of creating revenue beyond the production of toys as collaborations branched out to avenues such as fashion, food, lifestyle, and beyond.
The first teaser trailer for the film debuted during preview screenings of Avatar: The Way of Water.
The teaser featured a parody of the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This expressed the bold statement that this movie isn’t going to be exactly what you think it is.
In reaction to the teaser trailer fans flew to Twitter to express their excitement for the movie.
In drawing more curiosity, using the iconic signature color Barbie Pink, billboards were displayed with only the release date of the movie.
Leaked photos of the Barbie movie set captured by the paparazzi created a media and internet buzz for weeks.
Fans fell in love with memeable posters that allowed them
to customize and insert themselves into Barbie world.
Coupled with AI, the selfie generator automatically removed unwanted photo backgrounds and adjusted the selfie image into a sparkly background with a tagline above.
Mattel and Forever 21 incorporated AI in their collaborative Roblox activation of 76 digital pieces that coincides with the launch of a physical Forever 21 x Barbie capsule collection.
Google released an Easter Egg to celebrate the highly anticipated Barbie film.
Googling the stars of the movie “Margot Robbie" or “Ryan Gosling” gave fans a fun easter egg of pink starbursts.
The drive towards monetization was moving out of the toy aisle.
With this momentum, the marketing team went life-size and partnered with Airbnb to create a life-size replica of Barbie's Malibu dreamhouse.
This gamified the promotion of the movie and the brand as fans had the chance to win a stay at the pink mansion in Malibu on July 21 and July 22, free of charge!
Barbie core fashion was nothing new but collabs with luxury brands like Aldo, Balmain, and Beis made anyone who purchased these exclusive fashion staples feel like a real Barbie girl.
Beyond on the toy aisle and proudly in Barbie pink, brands like NYX cosmetics, Moon, and Homesick candles released and sold out their Barbie-themed collections.
Mattel's merchandising targeted all ages, however, many collaborations were skewed toward teens and adults.
In effort to make Barbieland a reality, Zara created two immersive experiences in NYC and Paris. These store experiences allowed shoppers to explore and shop like Barbie while catching glimpses of Barbie's neighborhood in the Barbie universe.
It became a hot pink summer as partnerships went across the foodie-verse and Barbie partnered with Cold Stone.
These Barbie pink treats became an instant trend as TikTok users parodied the Grimace Shake Challenge and took a sip of the drink and were instantly transformed into a fully Barbie-fied version of themselves.
Barbie Signature is a premium membership program for members of Mattel Creations.
For an annual membership fee of USD $9.99, Barbie Signature members gain access to :
•Exclusive access to highly collectible members-only premium dolls.
•Exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Voting privileges- Vote on the design of new dolls.
Branching out to music lovers Barbie: The Album was released in full on July 21, 2023.A lineup as diverse as the Barbie audience, the album was noted to feature an array of genres.
Heavy hitters such as Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Karol G, and Nicki Minaj have encouraged their fans to enter the Barbie Land.
In changing the narrative on who can be a gamer, Barbie partnered with Xbox for an exclusive Barbie Console.
Microsoft launched a contest to win a Barbie Dreamhouse Xbox Series S.
The special edition of the console came in a bright pink color, complete with the Barbie logo housed inside a Barbie’s Dreamhouse stand.
The Barbie Xbox Series S was noted to be only available through this contest and would not be sold to the general public.
Barbie Marketing's success was evident as "Barbie" reached its peak Google Trend score of a 100+, weeks before the premiere of the Barbie Movie.
Due to the increased cost of purchasing movie tickets, fans treated going to the theater as an event.
Many theatres facilitated this by rolling out the pink carpet and treating moviegoers like stars.
There were many photo ops and selfie opportunities as fans did not shy away from sharing their Barbie movie experience.
Debuting at $155 million domestically and $337 million worldwide.
The highest opening weekend domestically this year, beating "Super Mario Bros.,"
The PG-13 comedy easily defeated Universal Pictures’ Oppenheimer, which opened in second place with $80.5 million.
Names filmmaker Greta Gerwig
the highest-grossing domestic opening weekend for a female director ever.
Based on the popular line of miniature dolls Polly Pocket the movie is currently in development with Lena Dunham (writer and director) and Lily Collins of Emily in Paris (staring as Polly).
Hot Wheels the movie from J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot Productions is scheduled to be released in June 2025 with Warner Bros. Distributing.
An untitled Barney movie is in development with Daniel Kaluuya of Get Out fame attached to produce.
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots will be getting its own movie from One Race Films and Universal Pictures with Vin Diesel announced to star and produce.
Strategy Breakdown
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Teasers and Easter Eggs (25%): These elements effectively engaged and intrigued audiences, encouraging them to actively participate and generate buzz on social media.
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Interactive Promotions (30%): Tools like the Selfie Generator incorporated personalization into the marketing strategy, expanding the reach to audiences interested in AI and trending topics.
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Strategic Partnerships (20%): Collaborations with various brands allowed Mattel to extend its influence beyond toys, empowering fans to create unique experiences and enhancing Mattel's expansion into new avenues.
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Cultural Impact (25%): The overarching narrative of questioning gender norms and promoting female empowerment resonated culturally, amplifying the brand's impact and fostering a positive societal dialogue.